Getty Jeff McNeil and Rhys Hoskins got into a heated exchange after a slide into second base.
The New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers started regular season play on March 29 when they faced off at Citi Field. The Brewers won a close contest, 3-1, in come-from-behind fashion. However, the game was highlighted by a benches-clearing slide, by Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins, into the legs of Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil. The play came in the top of the 8th inning as Hoskins slid into second to try and prevent a double play. After the game, Hoskins spoke to reporters regarding the incident, and the exchange between he and McNeil.
The benches clear between the Mets and Brewers after Jeff McNeil takes exception to a hard slide into second base from Rhys Hoskins
“He just seems to be complaining when things aren’t going well,” Hoskins told reporters, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak. “I think that’s kind of one of those moments. Maybe lost in the heat of the game.”
Hoskins and McNeil Exchange Words
Hoskins felt that the slide was just incidental to a “slow-developing play,” according to Rosiak. McNeil disagreed.
“Just a late slide,” McNeil told reporters after the game, according to SNY. “We’ve had a little bit of a past so I knew there was a chance he’d be coming in like that, and I just didn’t like his slide. I wasn’t trying to turn a double play at all. I was just trying to catch the ball. There was no need to break it up.”
McNeil went on to say Hoskins has had questionable slides in the past. After the play, McNeil immediately got up and directed words to Hoskins who was still on the ground. Hoskins said nothing to McNeil then and started jogging to the dugout. Eventually, both teams’ players were on the field.
While McNeil was on the field watching the replay, still chirping at Hoskins in the dugout, cameras caught Hoskins gesturing towards McNeil potentially suggesting he was a “crybaby,” according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Curt Hogg.
I’m no lip-reader but I would venture to guess Rhys Hoskins called Jeff McNeil a crybaby here.
Hoskins does have some history against the Mets as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2019 he made headlines after a slow trot around the bases after a two-run home run against the Mets.
Mets Players and Manager Chime In
The Mets challenged the play after umpires got everything under control. After a review, there was no interference at second base, thus keeping the Brewers out of a double play. The Brewers ultimately went on to end the inning without another run scored.
“It’s a late slide, obviously we didn’t like it. But it’s legal,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said after the game, according to SNY.
Mets players echoed the sentiment that Hoskins slid late. First baseman Pete Alonso acknowledged the history between Hoskins and McNeil.
“It’s happened before, in the past. When he was with Philly, he’s went and gotten Jeff multiple times in the past,” Alonso told reporters, according to SNY. “I know he didn’t really get him that hard or slide into him, but he’s definitely slid past the bag and went and gotten Jeff before. It’s happened a lot in the past.”
The Brewers will face the Mets again on March 30 and 31 to finish the series.